We were recently invited to try Fantaste, which claims to be the first authentic claypot rice restaurant in Manila.
It is located near the corner of V.A. Rufino and Valerto Streets in Makati, an old haunt of ours because we used to work in the area.
It is pronounced fan taste, not French fantaste like I initially thought 😀
FANTASTE CLAYPOT RICE
Upon first entering Fantaste, I immediately noticed that most of the patrons were mainland Chinese. This bodes well for the food’s authenticity.
Claypot rice is a Southern Chinese specialty, and is one of the “must-eats” in Hong Kong, where there are shops that only specialize in making claypot rice (煲仔飯) – they have their own secret recipes and everything 😀
What’s the allure of claypot rice, anyway? For me, it’s how all the flavors meld together while cooking in the pot (the rice absorbs flavors and juices from the toppings) AND there’s also the matter of the crunchy, scorched rice bits (tutong) at the bottom 🙂
THE FOOD
Claypot Rice
Here’s their Claypot Rice Menu:
I was able to try the Braised Beef Brisket, Cumin Beef, Chicken & Mushroom and Braised Tofu.
The Braised Beef Brisket tasted game-y, in a nice way. After taking a bite, what immediately came to mind was that the cow/buffalo had just finished running in the steppes of Mongolia 
I like cumin so I liked the Cumin Beef, which was only slightly spicy for my tolerance 🙂
I also enjoyed the Mushroom and Chicken, which had slivers of mushroom and chicken.
The Braised Tofu is the meatless option, which is just fried pieces of tofu in a mild chili sauce.
All the claypot dishes that I tried were seasoned very mildly. Still good, but quite mild, and especially light on the salt. All the claypot rice dishes are served with a fried egg.
In Hong Kong, claypot rice is served with dark soy sauce on the side, where customers can add as much dark soy as they wish. So it was curious why Fantaste doesn’t serve dark soy sauce as standard practice. We had to ask for dark soy sauce. They did provide us with dark soy sauce, but still, I would think that for a claypot restaurant, the dark soy sauce should either already be available as a table condiment, or be served together with the claypot rice.
If you are watching your salt intake, maybe don’t add dark soy sauce. But if you’re okay about it, I suggest adding a drizzle or two of dark soy sauce and then mixing up the claypot rice. For me, it’s the thing that ties the whole dish together. After adding my preferred amount of dark soy sauce, the claypot rice dish I had became more flavorful. The first visit, we weren’t served any dark soy, so on my second visit, I made sure to ask for dark soy sauce; but what about those customers who don’t know?
Another thing to add is that the meats at Fantaste have some bite (not very tender). The food is cooked steamed / stir-fried, and not pressure-cooked until they fall off the bone. I have no problem with it myself, but thought I’d just mention it for those who may have dental issues (it is something I always take note of because of my senior parents).
One more thing, the claypot rice wasn’t really served in a traditional clay pot like I expected. However, the rice still had the scorched bits at the bottom, and the food stays hot for a long time!
Breakfast Menu
We were able to try Fantaste’s breakfast menu, and if only it wasn’t in Makati, I would frequently go there for breakfast 🙂
I highly recommend their Cantonese Steamed Vermicelli Roll – this is fried cheung fan, a.k.a. rice roll, with eggs and other ingredients. The rice roll is soft and very slippery 
Hahaha, yes, this is a thing! Very good rice roll texture.
We also really liked the Fried Noodles with 3 Shreds – it’s just simple fried noodles with vegetables, egg and ham, but somehow it’s pretty good. The noodles are fried over very high heat (I can tell from the “wok hei” 鑊氣).
The only thing stopping me from having breakfast at Fantaste is having to brave Makati workday morning traffic. Well, I suppose I could go on a weekend if I wake up early 
Dessert & Drinks
For dessert, we ordered the White Fungus. It’s a typical Chinese snack / dessert, part of the group called Tong Sui (糖水). The white fungus is similar to wood ear mushrooms (tengang daga), and it is boiled in sweet water until soft and gelatinous. It has many health benefits (anti-inflammatory; rich in collagen, etc…)
For drinks, I ordered the Chrysanthemum Tea. Chrysanthemum tea is one of my favorite Eastern-style teas, but honestly, I’ve had better. Unfortunately, it is not as easily available in Manila, and I’ve often had to make it myself whenever I want (and am not too lazy to do it), so it’s nice to know that it is available here. Benefits of chrysanthemum tea include treating respiratory problems, high blood pressure, hyperthyroidism. I find that it has cooling properties (like cucumber), and it’s wonderful to drink when the weather is baking.
SUMMARY
While the claypot rice is okay, the main draw for me is their breakfast menu – particularly the Cantonese Steamed Vermicelli Roll. Too bad that it’s only available in the morning. I’ve been thinking about it for about 2 weeks now, so I will probably head over there one weekend morning, because I don’t go to Makati on a traffic day if I don’t have to 🙂
